Police roundup

An observant 6-year-old girl led authorities to find an 86-year-old man who had gone missing from his Redwood Valley home Tuesday, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

The man was reported missing at 3:40 p.m. from his Walnut Lane home, where deputies responded and learned the man had Alzheimer's and had gone for a walk with his dog. Family members reportedly searched the immediate area when the dog returned about an hour later without the elderly man, according to the MCSO.

Deputies called the Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department and Ukiah Ambulance to help, and learned in the ensuing search that the missing man was possibly on Road A. Searchers responded and found the man caught in some brush, according to the MCSO.

While at the Road A location, deputies learned that Natalie Wildberger, 6, heard noises coming from the brush while playing outside, and thought she heard someone calling for help. The girl went to her father, and the two found the missing 86-year-old man on the other side of a fence, stuck in the brush.

The Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department and Ukiah Ambulance removed the man from the brush and took him to Ukiah Valley Medical Center for observation, according to the MCSO.

"The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office would like to thank Natalie for a job well done!" the MCSO stated.

Officers, Fort Bragg man injured in grocery store scuffle

Two officers and a 46-year-old man who was reportedly seen carrying a knife and acting strangely at Harvest Market in Fort Bragg were injured Tuesday morning in an ensuing struggle, according to the Fort Bragg Police Department.

Officers arrived and recognized the man as Michael D. Bottenfield Jr., 46, of Fort Bragg. He appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance when officers spoke to him, according to the FBPD, and allegedly resisted when officers started to search him.

Police used a Taser, pepper spray and a baton on Bottenfield during the ensuing struggle, all to no effect, according to the FBPD. Bottenfield and two officers took minor injuries in the fight before police arrested him on suspicion of battery with serious injury to a peace officer, obstructing or delaying a peace officer and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Bottenfield and the two officers were treated and released from the Mendocino Coast District Hospital Emergency Room, and Bottenfield was booked at the Mendocino County Jail in Ukiah.